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Resident of The Suites says she tried to refuse; police say they received permission

By Amelia Arvesen

Staff Writer

Posted:
06/07/2017 06:25:49 PM MDT

Updated:
06/08/2017 09:37:15 PM MDT

A resident of the Longmont Housing Authority-managed The Suites apartments says Longmont police, with dogs, searched her apartment for drugs even after she attempted to refuse the search. (Lewis Geyer / Staff Photographer)

A resident of an apartment complex run by the Longmont Housing Authority says she refused permission to property managers and police to enter her unit last month, yet they came in anyway, using police dogs to search for drugs.

During that May 10 search at The Suites, Tamika McClure said, the K9 picked up on something, so she was asked to open the drawer of her nightstand — revealing, she said, nothing suspicious inside.

"It makes me pretty mad," McClure said Wednesday. "Like invasion of our privacy. Because I have people telling me if they have a search warrant, you have to let them in. But they didn't have a search warrant. We have nothing. We don't do drugs."

Krystal Winship Erazo, the Longmont Housing Authority's director of operations, said that as the steward of the crime-free housing property, she invited police and their dogs to help search units after hearing rumors of drug activity within the subsidized 70-unit complex at 2000 Sunset St.

"Clearly if a resident isn't interested in confirming that there aren't drugs in their apartment, then it sparks some curiosity," she said Tuesday.

Police also noted there was a recent overdose death at The Suites.

Deputy Chief Jeff Satur said he was unaware of McClure's allegation, but that the K9 officers involved in the May searches reported they did not enter any apartments without consent.

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Officials from the housing authority and police had planned to conduct another round of inspections at The Suites on Wednesday. But Longmont Public Safety Chief Mike Butler said he canceled this week's searches, saying he felt the notice that was sent to residents wasn't clear about the police's intentions.

"Given that the letter did not convey the conditions set forth by Longmont Public Safety, specifically those conditions related to protect an individual's constitutional rights, leadership made the decision not to participate in this process," according to a police news release.

Warrantless searches

But Mark Silverstein, legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, said if police entered McClure's apartment after being told "no," it was a violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure.

"What's concerning is that housing authority management and the police forced a tenant to allow a warrantless search and invaded her privacy," he said. "It's something that they never even would have tried to do to someone who wasn't living in subsidized housing. People in subsidized housing do not give up their constitutional rights."

Silverstein said that while the terms of the lease allow mandatory monthly inspections for leaky pipes and other maintenance issues, they do not allow management to bring along the police and their dogs to search for drugs.

Butler said three or four apartments were checked — none without consent, he insisted — in May. It is unclear whether apartments searched were chosen at random or intentionally, and Longmont Housing Authority officials could not be reached Wednesday for further comment.

McClure said that in addition to her own attempt to refuse to allow her unit to be searched, she knows of at least one other neighbor who unsuccessfully tried to turn the police away.

Letters to residents

For this week's planned searches, a "notice to enter" dated Friday was sent to all residents notifying them that the mandatory monthly check-in would take place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The letter read, "Please note that we will occasionally have K9 units with LPD accompany us for purposes of training and compliance. Apartments will be chosen at random."

The letter then explained how residents should behave around the dogs, such as keeping their own dogs on leashes or kenneling them.

After receiving the letter, Ray Appling raised concerns that her and her neighbors' Fourth Amendment rights were being violated.

The letter did not say that residents were not required to allow police inside their homes, which Silverstein said is their right if officers don't have search warrants or don't receive consent.

Winship Erazo said she would add that language to future notices.

Butler said if residents were to refuse police, the officers wouldn't enter. Winship Erazo said in the event somebody wasn't home, the property managers would enter the unit and conduct the inspection without the police.

'Really feels like victimization'

Samantha Frazee, a friend of McClure's, complained about how residents of The Suites were being treated by the authorities.

"It really feels like a victimization of a very vulnerable community of people who are living there," she said. "Even myself, I feel like if my landlord and the apartment owner showed up at my door with police and K9s, I'm not sure I would feel like I could say no, even if I knew it was my right to do that.

"It would be intimidating and that's exactly what happened."

Butler said police's intention was to assist the Longmont Housing Authority with verifying whether there were drugs — not to make arrests or seize property — and encourage anyone struggling with addiction to participate in the Angel Initiative, a program for drug recovery.

He said the housing authority's invitation was not unlike the requests the department receives from schools, businesses, neighbors and other apartment owners concerned about illegal activity.

"We did not violate anybody's constitutional rights and, in fact, went to The Suites in a non law enforcement context to help the Longmont Housing Authority try to respond to the complaints of the resident around drug use and drug dealing."

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